Corning CEO: 'Innovation Key to Corning's Growth'

Corning CEO: 'Innovation Key to Corning's Growth'

April 27, 2007

Weeks Elected Chairman; Houghton Steps Down

    CORNING, N.Y., April 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
"The key to the company's strategic framework" is
to grow through global innovation," Wendell P. Weeks,
president and chief executive officer, told more than 500
shareholders attending Corning Incorporated's (NYSE: GLW)
annual meeting on April 26th morning. Acknowledging that
there are risks in any strategy, Weeks said that Corning
has been successful at leveraging its distinctive
innovation culture to create significant growth
opportunities over the company's 156-year history.

    (Logo: http://www.xprn.com/xprn/sa/200612081746.jpg )

    Weeks reminded shareholders that Corning is often faced
with the reality that it not only invents the materials for
business success, but also the manufacturing processes
necessary to create "keystone components that enable
high technology systems," which drive customer
solutions. He pointed out to shareholders that as the
company went through a "life-changing experience"
in 2002, the leadership team and the Board of Directors
thought carefully about the kind of company Corning would
be in the future. "It's at times like this that many
companies decide to fundamentally change who they are and
what they do. We made a different choice. We embraced the
core of our identity... Our choice was not to change the
fundamental nature of Corning, but rather to make Corning a
better version of itself," he said.

    Financial Strength

    Weeks reviewed the continued strengthening of the
company's financial position, noting that since 2001,
Corning has reduced its outstanding debt by two-thirds and
increased cash by over 40 percent to $3.2 billion. The
company has generated operating cash flow in excess of the
significant investments it has made for the last three
years. He also said that while Corning regained its
investment grade credit rating in 2005, "Our continued
strong performance resulted in further credit rating
improvement last year." 

    Business Performance

    "Our second priority is to improve profitability
and once again, we've made excellent progress," Weeks
said. Sales reached $5.2 billion in 2006 and net income,
before special items, reached $1.8 billion, an increase of
35 percent over 2005 and an all-time record for the
company. This is a non-GAAP financial measure and it is
reconciled on the company's investor relations Web site and
in an attachment to this news release.

    Weeks said that this strong business performance was
the result of continued success in Display Technologies,
where overall sales volume improved by 35 percent, driven
largely by the doubling of liquid crystal display (LCD)
television sales in 2006. Last year, LCD TVs accounted for
23 percent of the global television market.

    Weeks said that the company's Telecommunications
segment also performed well in 2006. He said the company
maintained its global lead in the fiber-to-the-premises
market. "The telecommunications market is growing
again, and as the leader in fiber optics we are well
positioned to capture this growth," he said.

    Future Investments
    Weeks told shareholders that the investments the
company has been making in its diesel filters for heavy-
and light-duty vehicles will start to pay-off in 2007. New
U.S. heavy-duty emissions regulations took effect on
January 1 of this year. He also noted that last year
Corning launched its Epic  System, the world's first
high-throughput label-free drug screening system, and the
early industry response has been positive.

    Corning's strategic growth portfolio is also advancing,
with the company making significant progress in the area of
synthetic green lasers, which could enable small mobile
devices, like cell phones to project larger images;
microreactors, which have the potential to deliver
significant process innovation and cost reduction for the
chemical processing industry; and silicon on glass, which
could enable significant innovation and potential longer
battery life for handheld consumer electronic devices.
"We feel very good about the promise of our innovation
portfolio," he said.

    Looking Forward

    Weeks said the company will continue to work on
bringing about a more balanced business portfolio to
protect against downturns in any particular business
segment. "We won't achieve balance over night, but we
are taking deliberate steps to improve balance over
time," he said.

    He also said that the company's 2007 priorities remain
the same as the previous year and he is looking for the
company to execute a new pricing strategy in its Display
business, deliver sales volume from its new diesel
products, capture the returning growth in the
Telecommunications arena, and improve its financial
performance in Life Sciences.

    In closing, Weeks paid tribute to James R. Houghton,
who retired for the second time as the company's CEO in
2005 and today stepped down as chairman of the board. Weeks
said that when Houghton returned to head the company in
2002, "we faced the most challenging time in our
history... but we held strong and then moved on to achieve
last year's record financial performance.

    "Jamie put his reputation at risk for us by
returning to the CEO role in May 2002," Weeks said.
"We all owe him a great deal of gratitude."

    Reflecting on the past five years, Houghton told
shareholders that the company's Management Committee
followed a path back to prosperity that it had crafted
before Houghton returned. "The path was clear, but not
easy. It was tough on our people and on our communities. But
we kept the beacon of hope alive because we knew it was far,
far too soon for this remarkable company to even think of
calling it quits."

    Houghton reminded shareholders that, "Moving from
more than $5 billion in losses to nearly $2 billion in
profits over a five-year span is true testimony to the grit
and skill of this management team -- especially in this
risky, globally competitive technology game."

    Concluding, Houghton said he has "the utmost
confidence in Wendell (Weeks) and Peter (Volanakis) as they
continue to lead the company. They have earned the
confidence of our people around the world and they are
passionate stewards of our treasured values."

    Weeks Elected Chairman
    Corning's Board of Directors elected Weeks its
chairman. He will retain the position of chief executive
officer. Volanakis was elected president and will continue
as chief operating officer. Houghton was named chairman
emeritus of the board and will continue as a board member.
Jeremy R. Knowles, 70, a distinguished faculty member at
Harvard University, has retired from Corning's board. He
was first elected a director in 2002. Knowles was named
board member emeritus.

    Other Business
    In other business during the annual meeting,
shareholders elected the  following directors to three-year
terms: Eugene C. Sit, 68, chairman, chief executive officer
and chief investment officer, Sit Investment Associates,
Inc.; William D. Smithburg, 68, retired chairman, president
and chief executive officer, The Quaker Oats Company; Hansel
E. Tookes II, 59, retired chairman and chief executive
officer, Raytheon Aircraft Company; Wendell P. Weeks, 47,
president and chief executive officer, Corning
Incorporated. Shareholders also elected Robert F. Cummings,
Jr., 58, senior managing director, GSC Group, Inc., to a
two-year term.

    Shareholders approved the ratification of
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the independent auditors for
the 2007 fiscal year.

    A shareholder proposal seeking annual election of all
directors passed. The non-binding proposal requests the
Board of Directors to take necessary steps, in the most
expeditious manner possible, to adopt annual election of
each director. The Board agreed to review this matter
following the vote. Since 1985, Corning's certificate of
incorporation and bylaws has specified classified Board
elections, putting about one-third of the Board up for
election each year. 

    Specialty Materials Presentation
    In an address to shareholders immediately following the
formal business meeting, James R. Steiner, senior vice
president and general manager, Specialty Materials,
outlined a number of growth opportunities for this $400
million division. Steiner told shareholders that the
division has been focusing on leveraging existing
technologies and capabilities into several new market
opportunities.

    He noted that over the years Corning has repurposed
several technologies into new products. Borosilicate glass,
first used to manufacture PYREX(R) more than 80 years ago,
is now the basis for optical windows used in digital light
processors such as business projectors and projection
television. The fundamental process used to make fiber
optics, known as vapor deposition, is being leveraged to
produce a number of specialty optical products, including
space shuttle windows, large mirror blanks for telescopes
and highly complex lenses for optical equipment.

    Finally, he said that his division is using an original
glass composition created in the 1960s for automotive
windshields to develop a highly protective glass for cell
phones and other handheld smaller devices. This glass would
withstand scratching and surface marring.

    Webcast Information

    The company hosted a live audio webcast of the 2007
annual meeting of shareholders in Corning, N.Y., from 11
a.m. to 12:15 p.m. EDT, April 26, 2007. To access the
webcast archive, please go to
http://www.corning.com/investor_relations and click on the
webcast archive link. No password or registration is
required. The audio webcast will be archived on the Web
site for one year following the broadcast.

    Presentation of Information in this News Release

    Non-GAAP financial measures are not in accordance with,
or an alternative to, GAAP. Corning's non-GAAP net income
and EPS measure excludes restructuring, impairment and
other charges and adjustments to prior estimates for such
charges. Additionally, the company's non-GAAP measure
excludes adjustments to asbestos settlement reserves
required by movements in Corning's common stock price,
gains and losses arising from debt retirements, charges
resulting from the impairment of equity or cost method
investments, or adjustments to deferred tax assets, and
gains or losses recognized in equity earnings from
restructuring, impairment or other charges or credits taken
by equity method companies. Corning's free cash flow
financial measures are also non-GAAP measures. The company
believes presenting non-GAAP free cash flow; net income and
EPS measures are helpful to analyze financial performance
without the impact of unusual items that may obscure trends
in the company's underlying performance. These non-GAAP
measures are reconciled on the company's Web site at
http://www.corning.com/investor_relations and accompany
this news release. 

    About Corning Incorporated

    Corning Incorporated ( http://www.corning.com ) is the
world leader in specialty glass and ceramics. Drawing on
more than 150 years of materials science and process
engineering knowledge, Corning creates and makes keystone
components that enable high-technology systems for consumer
electronics, mobile emissions control, telecommunications
and life sciences. Our products include glass substrates
for LCD televisions, computer monitors and laptops; ceramic
substrates and filters for mobile emission control systems;
optical fiber, cable, hardware & equipment for
telecommunications networks; optical biosensors for drug
discovery; and other advanced optics and specialty glass
solutions for a number of industries including
semiconductor, aerospace, defense, astronomy and
metrology.

    Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements
that involve a variety of business risks and other
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially. These risks and uncertainties include the
possibility of changes in global economic and political
conditions; currency fluctuations; product demand and
industry capacity; competition; manufacturing efficiencies;
cost reductions; availability of critical components and
materials; new product commercialization; changes in the
mix of sales between premium and non-premium products; new
plant start-up costs; possible disruption in commercial
activities due to terrorist activity, armed conflict,
political instability or major health concerns; adequacy of
insurance; equity company activities; acquisition and
divestiture activities; the level of excess or obsolete
inventory; the rate of technology change; the ability to
enforce patents; product and components performance issues;
stock price fluctuations; and adverse litigation or
regulatory developments. Additional risk factors are
identified in Corning's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only
as of the day that they are made, and Corning undertakes no
obligation to update them in light of new information or
future events.

    Attached File: CORNING INCORPORATED AND SUBSIDIARY
COMPANIES RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURE TO
GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURE 
(
http://corning.com/media_center/press_releases/2007/2007042602.pdf
)


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